Govt proposes Rs 5,000 cr fund for MSMEs

The government on Friday proposed setting up of a Rs 5000 crore India Opportunities Venture Fund with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to enhance the availability of equity to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The budget also proposed to exempt capital gains tax on sale of residential property, if the sale consideration is used for subscription in equity of a manufacturing SME company.

The allocation for the credit-linked subsidy programme — Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme has been proposed a 23% enhancement from Rs 1,037 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 1,276 crore in 2012-13.